Seeing a mass of blue flowers in the summer garden is like a deep drink of cool water on a hot afternoon. And few perennials do blue better than Penstemon ‘Margarita BOP’.

‘Margarita BOP’ is a natural hybrid of two native Penstemons (P. heterophylla and P. laetus) and was discovered by the late Bert Wilson of Las Pilitas Nursery in Santa Margarita, CA, where it had volunteered at the base of his porch (the BOP in ‘Margarita BOP’ stands for ‘Bottom Of Porch’). Plants are long-lived, have a long bloom season, and are very drought tolerant once established.

Surprisingly enough for such a blue flower, the flower buds start off as pale yellow with a rosy base. But once the buds have opened, the flowers are a gorgeous shade of deep violet-blue. Plants are evergreen, and get to around 2’ by 2’ at maturity. The tubular shape of the flowers makes them extremely popular with hummingbirds, who are their primary pollinators. They’re also a favorite of bumblebees, who often bite their way into the base of the flower to steal some nectar (without providing any pollination services…). Let’s face it, Margarita BOP is just plain irresistible!

‘Margarita BOP’ prefers full sun and well drained soil, and plants are relatively deer resistant. Plant them en masse for a truly gasp-worthy effect, or combine with other drought-tolerant sun lovers like Erigeron, Zauschneria, Eriogonum, Monardella, Agastache, Salvia, or Eriophyllum lanatum.

Teucriums – also known as Germanders – often get overlooked when folks are planning their gardens, and here at Shooting Star Nursery we’re on a mission to change that!

If you’re not yet familiar with Germanders, this is a great time to get acquainted. These versatile evergreen groundcovers and subshrubs thrive in full sun, are drought tolerant and deer resistant, and are absolutely beloved by pollinators (maybe because their flowers smell like honey!).

All Germanders will take well to light shearing throughout the year, making them good candidates for a low, formal border. In fact, this feature made them extremely popular as border plants in formal Elizabethan knot gardens.

Shooting Star regularly carries the following varieties of Germander:

Gray Creeping Germander (Teucrium aroanium): Narrow soft gray foliage with pinkish-purple flowers; 2-3’ tall by 1.5 – 2’ wide. Both foliage and flowers are fragrant. See photo above.

Wall Germander (Teucrium chamaedryas): Glossy dark green leaves topped with small spikes of rosy lavender flower. Shear after blooming to help maintain shape. 1-2’ tall by 2-3’ wide.

Dwarf Wall Germander (T. chamaedryas ‘Prostrata’): Same coloring Wall Germander, but plants only reach 6-8” tall by 18” wide at maturity.

‘Summer Sunshine’ (T. chamaedryas ‘Summer Sunshine’): New leaves are golden green, darkening to chartreuse later in the season; rosy purple flowers; 6-8” tall by 12-18” wide.

Elaeagnus (pronounced “ellie agnus”) are a group of sturdy, fast-growing evergreen shrubs that are drought-tolerant once established, make a good addition to a firewise garden, and work beautifully as a screen or a hedge. Some species even fix nitrogen in the soil!

These qualities alone would make Elaeagnus a ‘must have’ plant in your garden. But what we really love about them is that they’re one of the very few evergreen shrubs we’ve found that seems able to resist the depredations of deer here in the Rogue Valley. Maybe it’s the tough leaves; maybe it’s the small thorns on the stems. But so far (knocking wood, fingers crossed…) deer mostly seem to leave them alone. 

Elaeagnus grow well in full sun or with a little light shade, but sun-grown plants will be fuller and denser. In fall, small cream-colored intensely fragrant flowers appear – followed by small reddish berries. The berries are generally too small for humans to bother with, but birds enjoy them. In fact, they’re a nice source of food that helps migrating and overwintering birds lay on a fat store to survive the winter months.

Shooting Star Nursery generally carries the following varieties of Elaeagnus:

‘Fruitlandii’ Rich olive-green leaves covered with small silver scales (shown above). Plants reach 6’ to 10’ tall and wide at maturity, but may be kept a bit smaller with careful pruning.

‘Clemson Variegated’ Lovely gold-centered leaves with dark green margins. About 10’ by 10’ at maturity.

‘Gilt Edge’ Coloring is the reverse of ‘Clemson Variegated’; dark green leaves with rich gold edges. Smaller than the two varieties above – roughly 5’ tall and wide at maturity.

‘Hosoba Fukurin’ Similar to ‘Gilt Edge’, but the leaves have cream-colored margins rather than golden yellow ones. 4-'5 tall and wide, with extremely fragrant autumn flowers.

This is one evergreen shrub that looks great all year round. No leaf spot, no diseases or weird pests, no old brown leaves - just glossy, thick leaves that start out light green and darken to a beautiful holly-like blue green.

The Rounded Hollyleaf Osmanthus is very easy to grow and seems to be happy in any location. We have one planted on the east, west, and north sides of buildings and all seem to be thriving. It wouldn't necessarily be our first choice for a hot spot against a south wall, but they do seem to acclimate to where they are placed and will even tolerate clay soil.

Rounded Hollyleaf Osmanthus will be more drought tolerant in a shadier location, but our established ones are rudely ignored and haven't complained. A thick mulch layer will help any evergreen shrub - or any plant for that matter - retain moisture and withstand the changes in temperature. This variety of Osmanthus is hardy to Zone 6 and has shown no winter damage through Rogue Valley winters. Like most Osmanthus it produces small, white, fragrant flowers, typically in the fall.

Rounded Hollyleaf Osmanthus will get about 4'x4', but can be pruned a bit tighter. It is not fast growing but puts on steady growth each year and won't overrun it's location. It is a great foundation plant or background for showier perennials. If the spines of Hollies are not your favorite this could be a good substitute since the rounded leaves only have slight spines - nothing to cause damage to the pruning gardener.

It can be deer resistant once established since it has thick, leathery leaves. But in heavy deer country it can have a hard time getting settled if the deer constantly eat the new growth. So cage it until it can get big enough to withstand the occasional deer browsing or test it out first - it seems to depend on the deer population on this one. 

Erigerons – also known as Fleabanes – are a group of perennials that manage to pack a whole lot of wonderful into a sweet little plant. They’re also absolutely charming. Their bright, cheery, abundant, daisy-like flowers bring a smile every time you see them.

To begin with, Erigerons are both long-blooming and evergreen. With a bit of deadheading between blooms, you can expect them to flower from Spring well into Fall. They’re also easy to care for. Most Erigeron varieties like full to partial sun, prefer well-drained, lean soil and are fairly drought tolerant and deer resistant once established. Erigerons also combine well with other perennials – softening edges, filling in empty spaces, or spilling over rock walls. Try planting them with other drought tolerant plants like Eriogonums, Penstemon, Verbena ‘De La Mina’, Scutellaria, and ornamental grasses.

The place where Erigerons really stand out, though, is their ability to attract a wide variety of pollinators – especially butterflies and smaller native bees. Butterflies love their platform-type flowers, which give butterflies a place to sit while nectaring. Bees really appreciate the long bloom season, as Erigeron’s flowers generally appear before most other perennials begin blooming here in the Rogue Valley, and will last up until late-blooming favorite like Asters and Goldenrods begin flowering.

Here are a few of the Erigeron varieties Shooting Star Nursery carries regularly:

Erigeron ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’: Both the leaves and stems of ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’ are covered with fine, silvery hairs – giving it a soft, furry look. Plants begin blooming in early spring, and are covered with pale purple daisy-like flowers featuring a bright yellow eye. Plants reach 6-12” tall by 12-18” wide, and will spread slowly via runners; forming a tidy colony.

Erigeron ‘Wayne Roderick’: ‘Wayne Roderick’ begins blooming in mid-spring, and features large purple flowers, up to 1 ½” across with gold centers. Plants reach 12” tall by about 18” wide. ‘Wayne Roderick’ will tolerate a bit of afternoon shade, but will also be fine with full sun if you can provide them with deep, weekly waterings during the summer months.

Erigeron ‘Profusion’: Erigeron ‘Profusion’ is aptly named – this plant is generally covered with flowers from early summer into fall! The flowers are smaller than ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’ and ‘Wayne Roderick’, but they more than make up for it with their sheer exuberance. Flowers range from white to pale pink, with both colors appearing at the same time on the plant. ‘Profusion’ is lower growing than the two varieties listed above, generally reaching between 6-8" tall, making it a great choice for border edges, spilling over rock walls, or even growing in containers.